


A Splash of Sunshine

by orphan_account



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drowning, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Summer, Swimming Pools, lifeguard AU, mentions of bullying, roadrat - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-05-27 00:12:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15012452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: School is out and the sun is shining.  Mako, a rising senior with a passion for swimming, is in need of some extra money.  He takes up a lifeguard job at his local pool, and happens to meet a certain boy who he may or may not be developing feelings for.





	1. First Day On The Job

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! This is my first fic of this account. Enjoy! :)

Mako’s P.O.V

Summer. The time of the year almost every kid looks forward to. Summer meant no school, hanging out with friends, and swimming. Lots and lots of swimming. Especially for Mako. Mako just finished his Junior year of highschool, and was as ready as could be for his summer break. He was recently accepted for his first job as a lifeguard at the local pool. There is a certain motorcycle Mako has his eyes on, and there is no way he'd be able to afford it without getting some kind of job. It would take him a while to get enough money to purchase the motorcycle, but as long as he was patient, he'd be able to get it eventually.

Today just so happened to be his first day on the job. While Mako was excited to finally have a way to earn some cash, he was also quite nervous. What if someone was drowning, and he couldn’t save them in time? Although he knew he’s a skilled swimmer (I mean, he IS part of his school’s competitive swim team after all), there’s a constant voice in the back of his head, filling his mind with doubts and worries.

As Mako got out of his truck, he shook his head, trying to clear all of the worrisome thoughts away. He’d be fine. As long as he payed attention to the visitors, he should be perfectly, one-hundred percent fine. Mako went around the back of the truck, throwing the trunk of the car open to retrieve his bag of supplies. Once he closed the trunk and locked the car, he made his way to the gate entrance of the pool. It was somewhat of a fancy pool. Most of the people that live in the area had a decent sum of money. The only reason Mako lives there is because the couple who adopted him several years ago just so happened to have extremely well paying jobs. His old foster parents didn’t have nearly as much money as these two do. While Mako could just ask them to buy the motorcycle for him, he’d rather take the pride in knowing he raised the money and bought it himself.

Mako dug his pool keycard out of his pocket and inserted it into the scanner. The gate clicked open, allowing him to push it open all the way and step inside. There was only a couple of people there, which made sense seeing as how it was rather early in the morning. Mako approached the lifeguard chair, setting his bag down next to it. He bent down to unzip it before pulling out a bottle of water, a towel, and some sunscreen. After placing the towel and bottle on the arm of the chair, he popped open the cap of the sunscreen and squeezed a blob of it onto his hand. He rolled up the sleeves of his lifeguard shirt and lathered the sun lotion onto his skin. Definitely didn’t want to get sunburnt.

Once he was finished, he finally took a seat in the chair. The next couple of hours went by surprisingly quick. Mako was a bit of an introvert, so he tended to enjoy sitting by himself and listening to others instead of actively engaging in conversations with them. It’s amazing what kind of information you can find out about others by just sitting and listening. As the day went on, more and more visitors arrived at the pool. Luckily for Mako, all of them obeyed the pool rules without complaining. Even the children were well mannered, he didn’t have to blow his whistle a single time at them. All in all, Mako was having a pretty easy day. That is, until one guy in particular showed up.

Mako was smiling softly, watching a couple of toddlers taking turns playing with their pool toys when suddenly the pool gate crashed open. Mako flinched at the noise, then cringed when he heard the newcomer yell at the top of his lungs.

“HOOLEY DOOLEY LUCIO, YA DIDN’T TELL ME YA LIVED SOMEWHERE THIS FANCY!”

That accent...the dude must be from Australia. Mako just so happened to be from New Zealand. The boy stepped through the gate, his eyes scanning the area, awed at the vastness of the pool. He looked around Mako’s age. Well, maybe a grade younger. He’s never seen him around before, though. The kid was all skin and bones, but he definitely made up for it in height. He was around six-foot five when he stood up straight, which was tall to most people. Mako, however, surpassed him by at least eight inches, landing himself at around seven-foot three. The kid had bright blonde hair that stuck up in every possible direction. The shape of his hair almost reminded Mako of a fire. Around both of his arms were orange floaties and he was carrying a big, orange inner tube(This kid really likes the color orange apparently). What really stood out to Mako was the guy’s bright, unnaturally orange eyes. He was overall a very strange looking person. Definetely not in a bad way, though.

The boy’s eyes continued to do a three-sixty of the entire pool, before landing right on Mako. For some reason he couldn’t explain, Mako felt his cheeks grow a little warm. The kid gave him a toothy grin and a friendly little wave. Mako waved back quickly, wishing the other dude would stop staring at him. His wish was granted when another boy walked through the gate, grabbing his blonde friend’s attention. Mako assumed that was who he had been shouting to, and that his name must be Lucio. Lucio was noticeably shorter by about thirteen inches. It looked almost comical, the stark difference in height between the two. He wore lime green swim trunks with a matching lime green bandana tied around his forehead. His dreads were tied up into a ponytail with a yellow hair tie.

“Hey Jamie, try to be a little quieter, ok? Don’t wanna make anyone mad.”, Lucio said, heading towards the lounge chairs to pick two out.

“Yeah yeah, sure, whatever ya say, mate.”, Jamie replied, only half listening.

Mako watched on as the two of them chose their seats and sat their belongings down. So the kid’s name was Jamie. Good to know.

Jamie suddenly smiled and whispered something to Lucio, pointing with his right hand back at Mako. Mako felt his cheeks burn again. God knows what he was saying about him. Lucio smiled and whispered something back, then seemed to shoo Jamie away. Mako shifted, uncomfortable as Jamie approached him.

“G’day! Just saw ya sittin’ here all in the lonesome and figured I'd give ya some company! The name's Jamison, but ya can call me Jamie. What's yer name?”, Jamie inquired with a grin.

“Mako.”

“Not a man of many words, I see. Heh, I'm the exact opposite! Ya can't ever get me to shut up!”, Jamie said, accompanied by a giddy little chuckle.

“Anyways, what brings you here today? The gorgeous weather? The cool, refreshing water? The half-naked hotties?”

Mako gave Jamie a quizzical look at that last one.

“Lifeguard.”

“Oooh, that's probably why yer wearin' that lifeguard shirt, ain't ya? Should’ve known, silly me!”, Jamie giggled.

“Haven't seen you around here, before.”, Mako pointed out.

“Nah, just moved here from good ol’ Australia! I moved in with my buddy Lucio over there, I've known him for years, we met online.”, Jamie explained.

“Mm. I'm from New Zealand.”

Jamie's eyes widened.

“Ye are? Awesome! So, how long ye got this lifeguarding job for, eh?”

“All summer. Trying to save up for a hog.”

“Ye like motorcycles too? I've always wanted to ride one, I've never gotten the chance though. Hey, if ya end up gettin’ yer dream hog, maybe ya could gimme a ride sometime?”, Jamie spoke excitedly.

“Maybe.”

“Nice! Well my friend over there’s waitin’ on me. I'll talk to ya later, ok? When’s yer shift up, anyways?”, Jamie questioned.

“In about...an hour. Why?”, Mako replied, checking his phone for the time.

“So we can hang out, of course! I’ll be here for quite a while, Lucio might go home earlier than me though. Anyways, see ya later!”

And with that, Jamie ran off to join Lucio. The rest of the day went by painstakingly slow. All Mako could think about was Jamie. Whenever he tried to direct all of his attention to his job, his eyes would always wander right back to Jamie. No one had ever been that friendly to him before. Most people avoided him due to his intimidating behavior and appearance. Jamie didn't even look phased when talking to him.

A couple of hours had passed, and Mako’s shift was soon to be up. Mako stared down at his phone, counting down the seconds until he was free. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...the alarm on his phone went off, making an annoying beeping noise. His first day of work was complete. Mako stood up and stretched, relief washing over him. Most of the people had already left the pool, including Lucio. Mako made his way over to the kid, who was laying face-down on one of the lounge chairs, half asleep.

“Hey. My shift is over.”, Mako said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Jamie popped up and stared at him for a moment, as if registering what he had said.

“Oh, ya...actually wanna hang out? Figured you’d just end up ignoring me, like most people do. Well, this is definitely a pleasant surprise!”, Jamie spoke excitedly, then giggled nervously.

“So...d’ya wanna take a swim?”, Jamie asked, nodding towards the pool.

“Sure.”

Jamie hopped off of the chair and gave Mako a mischievous smirk.

“Last one there’s a rotten egg!”, he shouted before running off and cannonballing into the cool water, making a big splash. Mako couldn’t help but grin at Jamie’s enthusiasm. He pulled his lifeguard shirt up and over his head, tossing it onto the lounge chair where Jamie had been sitting just moments ago. He ran after him, cannonballing into the pool just as Jamie had done, creating an even bigger splash. They both rose to the surface, laughing.

“Hooley Dooley, that was the biggest splash I’ve ever seen!”, Jamie giggled.

Mako chuckled, relaxing his muscles to peacefully float on his back.

“What school do you go to?”, Mako questioned, glancing at Jamie.

“Well, I’m going to the same high school as Lucio, don’t remember what it’s called though. It’s the one closest to this neighborhood.”, Jamie explained, casually swimming in circles around Mako.

“Overwatch High? Yeah, I go there too. What grade are you in?”

“I’ll be a Junior this coming school year. What about you?”

“Senior.”

“Heh, I see yer at the top of the food chain! It’s always nice to have a friend like you.”, Jamie said, muttering the last part.

Mako quirked an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“Ehm, well, I get bullied just about every year, so being friends with a senior would give me quite the advantage. But trust me, that’s not the real reason I wanna be friends with ya. Ya just seem like the type of guy that’d be cool to hang with.”

“Wait...bullied for what?”, Mako asked, curious.

“I usually get called a freak, y’know, ‘cause of how odd I look. My bright orange eyes, my weird spikey hair, my…”, Jamie trailed off, looking away, embarrassed.

Jamie suddenly swam to the edge of the pool, pulling himself up to sit on the side. He pulled his right leg out of the water. Something looked off about it…

“I got into an accident a few years back, got my leg into a real mangled mess. Had to get it amputated. Got it replaced it with this fake one. Looks pretty real, eh? Ya can still tell it’s fake, though. At least it’s waterproof, so I can still swim.”, Jamie muttered, staring at the concrete beside him, as if he was ashamed.

Mako rolled over onto his stomach and swam to the edge as well, resting his head in his arms on the side of the pool next to Jamie. He didn’t even notice Jamie had a prosthetic leg until just now.

“Is that why you get bullied so much?”, Mako asked, pointing with his thumb at the fake limb.

“Mostly, yeah. I’m used to it, though. Give it a few years and the blokes that’ve bullied me over the years will all be workin’ at Macca’s while I’ll be livin’ like a king.”, Jamie spat.

Mako chuckled, flipping a piece of wet hair off of his face. He could relate to how Jamie felt. He used to get bullied too, that is until he started to fight back. Now no one ever dared say a single thing to him.

“Just stick with me, kid. I was in the same boat as you a few years ago. Now I’m one of the most feared people in the entire school. You can join me and my friends if you’d like.”, Mako offered with a smirk. Jamie’s eyes shined, as if he had just been offered a million dollars.

“Really? Ah jeez mate, that’s one of the kindest things anyone’s done for ‘ol Jamison.”

A sudden knock snapped their attention to the gate, where Lucio was standing behind the bars.

“Hey Jamie! Sorry for interrupting, but I just came to let you know dinner’s ready. Might want to hurry up before it gets cold.”, Lucio called out.

“I’m comin’! Gimme a tic and I’ll be on my way!”, Jamie responded, pulling his other leg out of the pool and standing up. Mako pulled himself out of the pool as well and grabbed his shirt off of the chair before putting it back on.

Jamie picked his inner tube up and looped it onto his shoulder. He stared back at mako for a moment, as if contemplating something. Jamie muttered something under his breath and suddenly ran into the bathroom, as if looking for something. Mako looked over at Lucio who was still waiting outside of the gate, giving him a questioning look. Lucio shrugged his shoulders, oblivious to what Jamie was trying to do. A few moments later, Jamie emerged from the restroom, a piece of a paper towel in his hand. He strode over to Mako, shoving the piece of paper into the taller boy’s hand with a faint blush covering his cheeks. Without a single word, he walked briskly to the gate and joined Lucio. The two began walking home, leaving Mako all alone.

Well that was weird. Curious, Mako looked down at the crumpled paper in his hand. Written on it was a phone number and a smiley face.


	2. Newly Found Friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two is finally up! Hope you enjoy!

Jamie’s P.O.V

Jamie had just finished eating dinner and was now laying in his new bed, impatiently waiting by his phone to see if Mako would actually call or text him. Minutes slowly ticked by, the clock hanging on the wall counting away every second he spent lying there. Jamie sighed, closing his eyes. Had he been too brash? Too annoying? Did Mako tell him they could be friends just to get Jamie to leave him alone? These and many other anxious thoughts wormed their way through his mind. What if-

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden beeping noise that rang out of the speakers of his phone. Jamie felt his heart skip a beat as he grabbed for his phone, practically shaking in excitement. On the screen was a notification of a text from an unknown number. It must be Mako, it’s gotta be. Licking his lips nervously, Jamie tapped the notification, pulling up the chat.

\--Hey, it’s Mako. U coming to the pool tomorrow?--

Jamie pressed the phone to his heart, giggling like a madman. Maybe Mako DID want to be friends! What a relief! Jamie couldn’t stop smiling as he typed away.

\--Totally! I’ll be there as soon as I can--

Once he sent the text to Mako, he quickly added him to his contacts. Things were definitely looking up for Jamie. He’s already made a new friend here and school hasn’t even started yet. His attention refocused back onto his phone when he realized Mako had sent him another message.

\--I gotta go eat dinner, ttyl. It was nice meeting you today--

Jamie couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear at the last part, quickly moving his fingers to respond.

\--Me too! Ttyl! :D--

Tossing his phone to the side, Jamie stretched out on his bed, staring at the ceiling dreamily. What a wonderful day he’d had. Hopefully the next day would be just as eventful, if not more. He continued to lay there, dreaming of the many different paths this newly found friendship could take. As the minutes ticked by, he found it harder and harder to keep his eyes open, allowing them to close and take him into a peaceful slumber.

Hours passed by and soon the sun climbed over the horizon, marking the start of another beautiful morning. Jamie shifted in his bed, the light that was seeping in from his window pulling him from his deep sleep. His eyes fluttered open and he sat up with a yawn, his mind groggy and confused. He didn’t remember owning a room this big or well decorated. After a moment of confusion, everything suddenly hit him. Oh, right, he moved. Giggling at his silly mistake, he pulled the covers back and stretched, popping his joints with a content sigh. Then another thought popped into his mind. He had plans to meet Mako at the pool today. A rush of excitement hit him like a bomb, making him jump out of the bed, thrust open his bedroom door, and run downstairs. About halfway down he realized he was wearing nothing but his smiley-face boxers. Crap. Making a U-turn, he ran back up the stairs to his room to throw some shorts and a t-shirt on. Once he deemed himself halfway presentable, he hopped down the steps once more, nearly tripping himself at least three times.

Lucio and his parents were already awake, calmly eating cereal at the dining room table. Jamie was the exact opposite of calm. A bowl of cereal and milk was already waiting for him at the table, as well as an empty seat. He pushed the seat back to sit down, then proceeded to scarf down the cereal as fast as he could. The bowl was completely empty within minutes. As soon as he was done, Jamie stood up, about to run back to his room to get his pool supplies ready when Lucio spoke.

“Where are you heading off to so quickly?”, Lucio said, smirking as if he could already guess.

“The pool. Remember that lifeguard?”, Jamie spoke hurriedly.

“Yeah, what about him?”

“We’re friends now. Well, at least I think we are. Anyways, I was gonna go hang out with him today. You wanna join?”, Jamie explained.

“I would, but I can’t today. Gotta rehearse for my big performance.”, Lucio replied before shoving another spoonful of cereal in his mouth. Lucio’s dream was to become a musician, and he was doing a mighty fine job so far. He’s already had a few public performances, all of them being extremely successful. Lucio, Jamie remembered, had just got offered a musical role in a very popular live show. He spent a good chunk of his free time practicing and bettering himself as a singer. Jamie admired Lucio’s enthusiasm and was always an extremely supportive friend, even though he had lived across the world from him and couldn’t be there in person.

“Well, good luck! I’m gonna go grab some stuff then I’ll be on my way.”, Jamie said with a smile, turning to head upstairs.

“Have fun! Say hi to your new friend for me!”, Lucio called after him.

Jamie ran back to his room and grabbed a bag, stuffing it with pool supplies. Sunscreen, check. Towel, check. Snacks, check. Keycard, check. Everything seemed to be in place. Wait, he needed his swim trunks! Jamie took off his shirt and tossed it aside, as well as his shorts, replacing them with swim trunks. After zipping up the bag up, he threw it over his shoulder, ready for a day of sunshine and fun. He walked down the stairs for the fifth time so far and made his way outside. The walk to the pool was only about five minutes. The weather was lovely, not too hot, not too cold. It was a perfect day for swimming. Jamie inhaled deeply, enjoying the fresh air.

He soon arrived at the gate to the pool. Holding the keycard up to the scanner, the gate clicked open. He walked through the gate, immediately scanning the area for Mako. As soon as he spotted Mako sitting in the lifeguard chair, his heart skipped a beat and he felt his face redden slightly. They locked eyes and Jamie gave the other boy a smile and a wave, which Mako returned. Jamie quickly found a chair to set his bag on before rushing over to where Mako sat. Mako was quite the handsome bloke. The going-to-be senior was at least a foot or two taller than himself and was quite burly. His arms were so thick and muscular that he could probably kill someone just by hugging them. The boy’s jet-black hair was tied up into a cute little man-bun that Jamie felt compelled to poke. Mako’s cheeks and lips were pleasantly plump. He sported a black nose ring and angel bite lip piercings. The piercing gaze of his unique gray eyes made a shiver run down Jamie’s spine. The older boy looked so intimidating, yet seemed so kind. It honestly confused Jamie. He liked it, though. Jamie approached Mako, unconsciously straightening his posture to stand tall with his chest puffed out.

“G’day mate! Told ya I’d come back!”, Jamie said cheerfully, leaning on the arm of the chair.

“Didn’t expect you to come so early. The pool practically just opened.”, Mako replied with a grin.

“Well ya know what they say, the early bird gets the lifeguard all to himself!”

“That’s not how the saying goes.”

“Sure it is. Anyways, I want you to tell me a bit about yourself, and I’ll tell ya a bit about myself. Just to get to know one another.”

“Well, I’m originally from New Zealand. My parents couldn’t take care of me anymore and I was put up for adoption. I had some foster parents for a while until I was officially adopted by another couple who flew over to pick me up and bring me here. I live with them and my pet pig.”

“Wait a tick, you have a pet pig?”, Jamie asked, intrigued.

“Yeah, saved her from being butchered. Her name’s Mango. She’s about two years old.”

Jamie giggled. Who knew someone so intimidating would own a pet pig named Mango?

“Heh, ya gotta let me meet her sometime. I’ve never owned any pets. Well, I had a pet rat once. If ya can call it a pet, that is. He would come and go as he pleased and I’d feed him whenever he came by. Then, one day I found him with a bunch of babies. Turned out the bloke was actually a sheila! Ah, sometimes I still miss the ol’ bugger.”

Mako chuckled, brushing a strand of loose hair behind his ear.

“There, I told you about myself. Now tell me about you.”

“I lived In Australia for my entire life, up until now. My parents didn’t care for me much, don’t really wanna get into all that right now. Long story short things got pretty rough back home, so I decided to move in with Lucio here. His parents said they’d be happy to accept me. They even paid for my plane ticket. So far I’ve been having a great time explorin’ and meetin’ new people.”, Jamie explained. Mako nodded in understanding.

“Oh yeah, before I forget, I was wondering if you wanted to go get some ice cream with me later. There’s a place a few streets away that sells the best homemade ice cream. I could take us in my truck if you want.”, Mako offered, scratching the back of his neck with a half smile.

Jamie felt butterflies explode in his stomach. Mako was just far too cute for him to handle.

“Yeah, that sounds great! I could go for some ice cream.”, Jamie answered, accepting the tempting offer. “So, got any hobbies?”

“I like repairing trucks and motorcycles. Helps relieve stress. What about you?”

“I’m always tinkerin’ away at somethin’ or other. I’ve also been told that I have quite the talent when it comes to drawing, but I’m not sure I believe that or not.”

Mako was silent for a moment, his eyes flickering to Jamie’s torso with an unreadable expression. Jamie furrowed his brow, confused by the other boy’s actions. Was there a bug on him? Was he slouching too much? Was Mako...checking him out? Jamie smirked at the thought, puffing his chest out proudly.

“Like what ya see?”, Jamie inquired, slicking his hair back with his hand. Mako raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“You’re sunburnt. Might want to put sunscreen on before you burn up even more.”, Mako pointed out blatantly, ignoring Jamie’s comment.

He was right. Jamie’s smile faltered as he curiously touched one of his shoulders, hissing at the pain he caused from doing so.

“Hehehe...guess I forgot to put it on...oops. I’ll be right back, ok mate?”, Jamie said sheepishly, embarrassed at his mistake. He quickly turned around to run back to where he had left his bag sitting. About halfway there, he happened to step in a puddle of water next to the edge of the pool. The water made him lose his footing and he yelled out, startled as he slipped into the deep end of the pool with a large splash. As he hit the water, he accidentally inhaled, causing water to seep into his lungs. He sunk like a rock, his prosthetic leg weighing him down. Jamie panicked, lungs filling with water as he flailed and thrashed and tried to fight his way to the surface. His heart was pounding, his head and lungs throbbing from the lack of oxygen. He could feel himself getting dizzy and lightheaded. After a few more seconds of painful struggling, he felt his body give out and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please excuse any mistakes I may have missed when editing.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I greatly appreciate it! I'd love any feedback you have to offer! Please excuse any misspellings or other errors I may have missed while editing.


End file.
